


Five Times Walter Almost Told Paige He Loves Her...And One Time He Did

by FoxPhile, WeBuiltThePyramids, WriterFreak001



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: 5 Times, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 12:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7685521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxPhile/pseuds/FoxPhile, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeBuiltThePyramids/pseuds/WeBuiltThePyramids, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterFreak001/pseuds/WriterFreak001
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This fic is part of a collaboration between WeBuiltThePyramids, WriterFreak001 and FoxPhile, inspired by discussions on the Scorpion FanFiction thread on FanForum. Each Author has written two stories that, together, make up the collection.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_And so there’s a change in your emotions, and all these memories come rushing like feral waves to your mind._ **

* * *

**Chapter One - WeBuiltThePyraids**

* * *

 

_Paige. Paige, Paige, Paige._

As his car rocketed out of the garage parking lot and onto the road, her name was on the cusp of his lips every time he exhaled, but he never quite said it.

She was headed away to spend the weekend with Tim, at the romantic hotel he’d chosen for him and Linda because TripAdvisor said it was the place to be.  It was his fault.  He let her go.  He told her to go.  As she exited the garage, she made sure he saw her – she looked right at him.  Then she was gone.

The realization that this feeling he had for her was love came with dozens of simultaneous flashbacks, the memories rushing like feral waves to his mind, to the night they danced and he first felt something different, to when he replaced the woman kissing him on his lap with her in his mind, to when he really, truly felt like he was dying and without realizing it reached for her hand.  He remembered teetering on the edge of a cliff and struggling to stay conscious while he begged his friends to find her.  Their kiss in the garage, her telling him that he had to stay alive for her and Ralph, then her sitting beside him as he talked about his sister, her physically holding him up as he mourned Megan’s death.  Singing together – a song he of course knew, otherwise how would he know what the ‘boy parts’ were? – and her staying late at the garage with Ralph, night after night, so the three of them could spend more time together.  The tornado...their refusals to leave the other alone.  Not to mention Chernobyl, God, was that only two days ago?

_We’re getting out of here together._

If only that was still true.

He activated the voice commands on his dashboard.  “Call Paige,” he said desperately, his voice laden with emotion.  He didn’t think he could do this over the phone.  But he had to do everything he could to stop her.

The moments of silence were agonizing, and for a moment – just a moment – his heart leapt when he heard her voice.  The sinking feeling that followed, upon the realization that he’d reached only her voicemail – was nearly agonizing.

Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he knew his breathing was audible as he disengaged the call.  “ _Dammit_!” He cried in frustration.

He flew past a sign and caught the words _Lake Tahoe_ on it – but he missed how many miles the sign stated.  It didn’t matter.  He knew exactly how far it was.  He’d done extensive research on conversations to have in the car so Linda wouldn’t be bored.

He shook his head.  He’d fooled himself for several weeks into thinking he liked Linda.  And she was a really sweet woman – but now, the idea that he’d intended to do this with _her_ was unbelievable.

He turned on the radio – an oldie, one he actually knew.  The guy was crooning about how wonderful his woman was; all these words were pouring out of him as if expressing his love was the most natural thing in the world.  He turned the radio off.  He was hours from Paige and already on the cusp of being overwhelmed, and hearing the song only made him realize that he had no idea how exactly to go about it once he found her.

He spent he didn’t know how long running through scenarios in his head, but then his car dialed another number for him, and this time, the tired voice that answered was live.

“Toby, I need your help.”

“With what?”

“With...” Walter let out another breath.  “What do I say? How do I tell her?”

“Well,” he heard his friend begin, “how do you feel?”

Toby spoke as if it was _just that simple_.  “I can’t just...” Walter moved into the other lane and blared his horn at the car that was driving too slowly.

“Hey, hey, easy there!” Toby said.  “You don’t need to take this out on the road.  Unless your plan is to get into another major car accident because you’re too emotional.  While it did succeed in bringing Paige back last time, your survival is kinda at risk each time you do that.”

At the moment, it felt like his survival was already at risk.  “ _Toby, I need advice!_ ”

“And I gave it to you,” Toby said.  “Your inability to recognize your feelings is what’s caused this whole mess.  But now you know that you love her.”

“That doesn’t mean...I mean...” he wet his lips.  “I can’t just come out and say that.”’

“Why not?”

“Because...”

“Listen to me, Walt.  Or did you just call to refute my advice no matter what it is?”

He sighed, loudly.  “Fine.”

“Imagine.  She has these feelings for you.  But she’s going on this romantic weekend to Lake Tahoe with Tim Armstrong because she believes that you don’t feel the same way.  But then suddenly you’re there, standing in front of her, and you’re confessing your love.  That’s what she wants, Walt.  If you give her that, she’ll be in your arms faster than you can finish the sentence with her name.”

“It’s three words,” Walter said.  “That’s not enough.  That’s not enough to explain how I feel about her.”

“They’re some of the most powerful words on the planet, when put together like that.”

He bit his lip.  “So I should just run up to her and say it.”

“Well, you could write a song, but recent history suggests that’ll blow up in your face.”

Walter realized that relying on Toby right now probably wasn’t fair – he was dealing with his own distress.  He also realized that before Paige, he never would have made that realization.

_She trusts you, you trust her._

She was also really, really good for him.  And if he believed the rest of the team, he was good for her too.

“I’m not going to catch them before they get to Lake Tahoe.”

“She’s worth the drive, Walter.”

“I know.”

“Good luck.”

When Toby hung up, Walter shook his head, focusing his eyes on the road.  His mind was wide awake, and physically, the rush of adrenaline had so far distracted him from the fact that he hadn’t slept in going on twenty four hours.  But his eyes were starting to hurt.  And he still had another four hours to go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - FoxPhile – The Heart Wants What the Brain Tells It to Want**

_“Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.” ~ Alfred Adler_

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

Walter slid his car into his usual spot in front of the garage.  Exhausted, he very nearly didn’t apply the brakes with sufficient force to stop the vehicle.  Toby would never forgive him if he wrecked the “company car” by slamming it into the building, he thought, amused.  The fit of laughter that possessed him at the image of his friend, standing in the wreckage of the garage and berating him for his carelessness, was further evidence of the effects of the past twenty-four hours on his mental equilibrium. 

 

The events with Mark Collins yesterday (had it been just yesterday?) were emotionally draining. Seeing parts of himself reflected in his former friend and colleague had been a wake-up call.  The genius knew he’d been changing over the months since Paige and Ralph had become part of Scorpion – and part of his life.  Seeing Mark - and seeing the level to which the man could descend in his desire to prove his superiority, his dissociation from humanity – had given Walter clarity regarding his own developing humanity.  He was better able to appreciate the value of human feelings and emotions – how they drove him and influenced his decisions.  He would never again discount that value.

 

The experience culminated in his realization that he loved Paige Dineen and his need to share that revelation with her. 

 

Which was part of why he was so tired.  After a grueling day, he’d spent most of the night driving to Lake Tahoe, desperate to find and stop Paige before things between her and Tim Armstrong went any further.  Then he drove back when Cabe called and told him Paige and Tim returned to the garage.  The very thought of Paige and Tim together – in any way - caused feelings that Walter could now admit amounted to a searing jealousy. 

 

Walter stumbled out of the car, straightened, then strode purposefully toward the door.  He saw neither Tim’s nor Paige’s cars, so where could they be?   As he entered the dim interior, his question was at least partially answered.  Tim lay sprawled on the red couch, sleeping.  Paige was nowhere in sight, and the garage appeared deserted.  Still, Walter was reluctant to wake the Navy Seal and question him.  The phrase, “let sleeping dogs lie” came to mind and Walter was both amused and appalled at the level to which he was applying the term “dog” to Tim.  He knew jealousy was not an emotion to be admired, but he was just beginning to realize the level to which it could influence his outlook.  It was a negative impact that he needed to learn to control. 

 

He moved quietly past the sleeping agent, then on into the common area, still finding no sign of Paige or anyone else.  Unsure how to proceed, Walter paused beside the coffee station.  There was just enough for one cup left in the pot from the previous morning.  He momentarily contemplated guzzling the remains in order to get another caffeine jolt, but grimaced at the thought.  He should determine his next logical move before taking such a drastic measure.  Another glance at the sleeping agent reinforced his resolve not to disturb the man, unsure at how that interaction might go.  He instead decided to make his way upstairs.  Perhaps in the quiet of his sanctuary he could come up with a plan; or get a quick hour’s sleep. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

As soon as he got upstairs, Walter realized there was someone else in the loft.  The flickering light coming from his living area could only be the television, although there was no accompanying sound.

 

“Walter!” came a low voice from one of the couches.  “You made it!”

 

“Cabe,” Walter responded wearily.  “It’s you.”

 

“Don’t sound so thrilled to see me, I might think you cared,” the older man quipped.  He was lying on the sofa, but rose to make room for Walter to join him.  “You look like you better sit down before you fall down.  Have you been driving straight through since last night?”

 

“Yes,” Walter responded as he nearly fell onto the couch.  “Where’s Paige?”

 

Cabe observed the young man critically before answering.  “She took Tim’s car and drove Toby home.  I think she had plans to talk to him on the way – try to make sure he doesn’t take a header into a bottle or back to the track.”

 

“Well, he was already well into a bottle when I left.”

 

“Yea, I feel bad about that.  I shouldn’t have said what I did.  I shouldn’t have left, either.  It hit me when I couldn’t get to sleep, so I came back, but you had already left.  I found that crazy shrink just sitting, holding a half-empty bottle of Tequila and muttering.  Amazingly, he wasn’t terribly drunk.”

 

“Really?”  Walter looked up at that, his concern for his friend temporarily outweighing his fatigue.  He’d realized himself that he shouldn’t have left Toby alone.  But his need to find Paige had trumped all reason. 

 

“I don’t think he had any more of that Tequila after you left.  He told me all about your epiphany, Walter.  I have to say, it’s about damn time.  Paige is a good thing – probably the best thing you’ll ever experience.  You are a moron if you don’t do something about that.”

 

“Yeah, I know.  But so far my efforts to reach her have pretty much been a bust.”

 

“Well, take heart.  At least you know she’s not with Tim.”

 

“Yeah,” Walter nodded, turning as if to check that his rival was still asleep on the couch downstairs. “How...uh… how did that happen, anyway?” 

 

“As best I can figure, the delayed reaction to Toby’s situation was universal.”  Cabe stood up and grabbed a mug from the table, gesturing towards Walter. “I made a fresh pot about an hour ago.  None of that damn cinnamon, though.  You want some?”

 

“Sure, sure,” Walter didn’t think any amount of caffeine would put a dent in his exhaustion, but he didn’t want to go to sleep before he had a chance to talk to Paige. 

 

Cabe continued as he walked into the kitchen and got a second mug.  “I hadn’t been here an hour before Paige and Tim came through the door.  Few minutes after that, Sylvester calls, saying he couldn’t sleep, worrying about Toby.  I told him the Doc was in good hands.”  Returning with two steaming mugs, he started to hand one to Walter, then put it on the table in front of him instead.  He walked over to sit down on the other couch, so the two sat face to face.  “Paige said she just got to thinking about Toby and decided she couldn’t leave him and Happy to deal with this all by themselves, so she convinced Tim to turn around.  If you ask me, I don’t think her heart was in this weekend trip.  Not with the company she had, anyway.” Cabe lifted his mug in Walter’s direction and winked.

 

Walter realized there was some message hidden in Cabe’s gestures, but he was too tired to work it out.  “I’m… I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

 

Cabe sighed, took a long swig of his coffee, then set his own mug on the table and leaned forward, his hands clasped between his knees.  “Toby told me you left here because you realized you love her.  Don’t you know that she loves you, too?”

 

Walter looked up.  The television was still flickering, captions rolling across the bottom of the screen.  He wasn’t surprised to see men on horses, galloping into what was supposed to represent a town in the nineteenth-century western territories.  He imagined most of those men – either the real actors or the fictional characters – never had as much difficulty dealing with love as he did. 

 

“No… no I don’t,” he muttered. 

 

“Well, you need to start knowing that.  I don’t mean you should be cocky.  The lady has every right to tell you to take a hike since you’ve waited so long.” 

 

Walter’s eyes widened and he started to get up, but Cabe hurried to add, “Relax, that’s not gonna happen.   She’s as crazy about you as you are about her.  The two of you just need to stop dancing around each other and get it out in the open.”

 

“To be honest, Cabe, the more time I have to think about it, the more I’m not sure I can do it.  I mean… I don’t know how… how to tell her.”

 

“That’s the simplest part.  The next time you see her, you get her alone – make sure about that part, women don’t like audiences for this sort of thing.  Then you just say the three words – I… Love… You.  It’s all the stuff that comes after that that’s confusing.  Just follow your heart.”

 

“That’s just cultural mythology.  Feelings of love don’t originate in the heart, they originate in the brain.  A complex cocktail of hormones…”

 

"Then follow your brain, kid. Just don't let a good thing get away because you don't know how to say 'I love you'."

 

Cabe got up from the table, picking up his empty mug and Walter’s full one.  “I suggest you take this opportunity to get an hour or two of sleep.  Paige will be back here once she’s gotten Toby settled – she has to bring Tim’s car back, after all.  Then you’ll have your shot.  Don’t blow it.”

 

Walter nodded and stood up, unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off his shoulders.  “Will you…?”

 

“I’m not going anywhere.  I don’t think it’s safe to leave you and Tim alone here.  I’ll wake you up as soon as Paige gets back.  Sooner, if she calls.”

 

Walter thanked him and turned towards the bed.  He removed his belt and started to remove his slacks, then decided it was too much trouble.  Kicking off his shoes, he crawled on top of the bed, not bothering to pull down the covers.  Before he closed his eyes, he wondered if he would ever see Paige’s head lying on a pillow next to his.  It was a lovely dream.

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

“Walter!”

 

Someone was vigorously shaking his arm.  Opening one eye, Walter saw a face, with a mop of brown hair.  Ralph. 

 

Ralph?  He opened the other eye, then sat up, blearily wiping one hand over his face and up into his hair. 

 

“Ralph?” he mumbled.  “Wha…what are you doing here?  Shouldn’t you be with Sly?”

 

“I was.  But when we woke up this morning, Sly said he was worried about Toby and he wanted to come over here and make sure he’s ok.  So we took the bus.  When we got here, Cabe was here and that Tim guy.  And he said mom was with Toby.  Then Tim took Cabe’s van and went to get bagels, so we all just had breakfast.  But now my mom’s back and Cabe said I should come upstairs and wake you up.  So now I’m here… and you’re awake.  Cabe said to tell you there’s an egg bagel left and to hurry up if you want it because otherwise my mom will get it.” 

 

“I… your mom can have the bagel, but Cabe’s right.  I need to get downstairs.”

 

Walter grabbed the shirt he’d tossed on a chair the night before.  Shrugging it over his shoulder, he took a quick whiff, then ripped it off again, along with the undershirt he slept in.  No way could he spend time on a shower.  Dashing to his small chest, he grabbed a can of deodorant and quickly sprayed himself.  Then he tore open a drawer, drew out a neatly folded dark blue t-shirt emblazoned with the pi symbol and pulled it over his head.  Smoothing it down, he noticed his fly was hanging open.  Casting a quick glance over his shoulder where Ralph was patiently watching, he turned back and discretely zipped his fly, and refastened the button, deciding that he could do without a belt.  Turning around, he ran past Ralph and began to run down the stairs.  Halfway down, he realized he was wearing nothing but socks.  He turned, and ran back up the stairs, nearly colliding with Ralph.  Muttering a quick “Sorry!” he ran back to his bedroom, slipped on his shoes and ran back down the stairs. 

 

Cabe and Sylvester were sitting around the table, the remains of breakfast scattered in front of them.  Paper plates held crumbs and bits of discarded bagel.  A large paper bag held the promise of more bagels.  Walter wasn’t at all hungry.

 

“Where’s Paige?” he demanded. 

 

“Relax, Walter,” Cabe admonished, standing up and crossing the floor to where Walter stood.  “Tim’s taking off and Paige just went outside to get her bag out of his trunk.  She’ll be right back.” 

 

“Are you sure?” Walter stressed.  “They aren’t going back to Tahoe, are they?”

 

“Paige left her bag here, with her cellphone in it,” Sylvester volunteered.  “She wouldn’t go anywhere without that.”

 

Walter started for the door, when Cabe grasped his arm.  “Relax, kid,” Cabe whispered.  “You’ll get your chance.  Right now Paige needs a minute to apologize.  No matter what you might think of Tim, he’s actually been pretty decent throughout this.  Things are about to get worse for him.   Let them say their goodbyes.”

 

Walter paused, looking anxiously towards the door.  He hated to think what might be happening on the other side.  He knew, of course, that the public location put pretty strict limits on things, but at the moment, even the thought of Tim sharing a handshake with Paige caused Walter to seethe with jealousy.

 

Fortunately, he didn’t have much time to think about what else might be transpiring.  Paige came through the door, tugging her small rolling suitcase, which she left beside the door. 

 

“Paige?” Walter started.

 

“So,” she began, not looking in his direction.  “I got Toby home, and we talked for a few minutes when Happy showed up.  She asked me to stay a bit, while she explained things to Toby.  I think she figured it would be easier with someone else there.  But she asked me not to say anything to you guys – she wants to tell you herself.  At any rate, when I left they were talking and working things out.  So I think all in all, Toby and Happy are going to be okay.  Which is what is really important, right?” 

 

She was pointedly looking at Walter now.   He had no idea how she expected him to respond, so he just shrugged his shoulders.  He was glad that his friends were working things out.  He understood that better, now.  But had it been so terrible that he was concerned for the stability of a team that kept all his friends from the sort of deranged behavior that Mark Collins exhibited?

 

“Paige,” he began again.  “I need to talk to you.  It’s… it’s important.” 

 

Paige right walked past him and over to Ralph.  “It’ll have to wait, Walter,” she said, again not looking at him.  “I need to talk to my son.  There are some things I want to explain to him.”

 

“It’s okay, mom.  You can talk to Walter.”

 

“No, Ralph,” Walter agreed. “Your mom is right.  If she has something she wants to talk to you about, that comes first.”

 

He sat down at the table, dejectedly moving a plate out of the way. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

Paige guided Ralph to sit down on the sofa in Walter’s loft.  She reached over to grab the remote and turn off the television. 

 

“So, Ralph,” she said, turning to face her son.  “You know that Toby and Happy have been dating, and last night, when Toby asked Happy to marry him, she said she couldn’t because she’s already married.”

 

Ralph nodded his head vigorously. 

 

“I just wanted to talk to you about that, in case you have any questions.”

 

“I… I guess I just wonder why Happy was with Toby… if she couldn’t marry him.  Doesn’t she love the person she’s married to?”

 

“Well, sometimes people get married who shouldn’t.  And sometimes people really love each other, but then after a while they don’t anymore – not in the same way.”

 

They continued talking until Paige was sure Ralph understood that the issues Happy and Toby were dealing with didn’t mean they would leave Scorpion.  She also cautioned him not to ask them about the situation, but to ask her if he had any more questions, stressing that Toby and Happy might not want to discuss it.  After a quick hug, the two made their way back to the stairs.  As usual, Ralph ran ahead and was already playing Proton Arnold by the time Paige reached the top of the stairs. 

 

“I can’t believe you were on your way to Tahoe when Cabe called you,” Sylvester was saying. 

 

Paige froze.  Walter went to Lake Tahoe?  He must have changed his mind and decided to go to the festival after all – just not with her.  She supposed he felt he couldn’t enjoy the mathematical elements of jazz if he had to worry about how spending time with her might affect his precious Scorpion. 

 

She needed to leave.  She hurried down the stairs, intending to collect Ralph and go home as quickly as possible, but Walter was waiting for her. 

 

“Paige, I really need to speak with you,” he urged, standing on the second step from the bottom and blocking her path.  “C…Can we go upstairs, please?  I need to speak with you in… in private.”

 

“Can’t it wait, Walter?  I really need to take Ralph and go home.”

 

Walter hesitated, and Paige was sure he was about to let her pass.  Then his face transformed.  She recognized determination when she saw it, and knew that Walter could be relentless in that state.  It would be best just to get it over with.  He probably wanted to discuss something about a client or the company’s software budget or something. 

 

“All right,” she agreed, turning to go back up the stairs.  Distantly, she heard a cellphone ringing. 

 

“I hope you can make this quick,” she tossed back.

 

“I… I think I can,” Walter stammered.  “I only have to say thr…um… just a few words.”

 

Paige turned, curious.  A few words?  What could that mean?  And why did they need privacy?

 

“Sorry, folks,” Cabe announced.  “Grab your gear and get loaded into the van, pronto.  We got a case!  I’ll explain on the way.  Paige, we can drop Ralph somewhere along the way, but I need you, Walter and Sly all with me on this one.”

 

Paige started back down the stairs.  She paused as she passed Walter, who looked like he’d just lost a friend.  Part of her was still hurt at his continued rejection, but she couldn’t help be a little curious about what he wanted so badly to tell her.  A few words.  She was sure she would find out eventually.  In the meantime, she realized she had to stop thinking about Walter in that way.  It only reopened the wound. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - WeBuiltThePyramids - "When I think how far I've come I can't believe it - yet I see it.  And then, I see family."**

* * *

 

Walter had experienced change in his life before.

His sister getting sick.  Moving to the United States.  Purposefully changing his accent.  Meeting Happy and realizing there were others, smart like him, unable to fit in like him.

None of those things compared to the changes that had been set into motion by Paige and Ralph.  Ralph had made him want to be human, want to better himself.  And Paige…

When she’d come into his life, it was like he’d been rebooted, no, like he’d gone through a software update that completely changed how he thought.  It wasn’t immediate, nor all at once, but Happy was right – he had been crazy about her since the day they met, and those feelings had only evolved into...

Into him wanting every damn cliché in the romance novels Megan used to make him read to her.  He wanted to bring her flowers and see her face light up.  He wanted to walk hand in hand with her in the light of the vanishing sun.  He wanted to see how she looked against the backdrop of a dozen vacation spots.  He wanted to stay in bed for an hour after waking up because she was still asleep on his chest and he wouldn’t disturb her.

And here they were, on a couple’s cruise – and a couple’s cruise where _even the staff_ had to be in relationships.  If that wasn’t some sappy, romantic cliché, Walter didn’t know what was.  He and Paige were the tech support – it had been easy to forge some credentials for her – and they were here to figure out who was sabotaging the equipment.

“But of course,” the skipper had said, “this is a ship for lovers.  Enjoy yourselves when you aren’t working.  We look forward to seeing you both at the party tonight.”

So here they were.  A pretend couple at a real party on a real couple’s cruise, undercover once again.  Last time it wasn’t painful.

But last time, Paige hadn’t been acting so disinterested, so unresponsive.

He glanced at her.  “Do you want to dance?”

It wasn’t that he wanted to, although he’d be lying if he said he didn’t.  They really _should_ dance – everyone else was dancing and they were standing off to the side.  But Paige seemed completely disinterested, and at his suggestion she merely shrugged.  “Alright.”

“We don’t have to.”

“No, it’s fine.” She took his arm as they walked out onto the floor, easing into position.

Walter often thought back to the night they had danced for the first time, just a couple months after they met.  He’d been startled at how dancing with her made him feel.  He didn’t know what it meant, but he did know that he didn’t want it to end.

“The music is nice,” he commented in a low voice, trying to make small talk.  It wasn’t what he wanted to say.  He wished he had already told her how he felt.  Then, they could enjoy the night.

If she knew how he felt, if they were already something, he could brush his lips against her cheek.  He could mumble how beautiful she looked into her ear.  He could pull her closer.

He couldn’t say _I love you_ for the first time tonight, no matter how romantic the setting, no matter how difficult it was not to just blurt it out.  They were undercover.  If he told her now, she’d only think he was putting on a show.

“You look very nice tonight,” he said, in a tone of voice that he hoped didn’t sound too overzealous.

She smiled – but it was a tired smile.  “Thank you.”

* * *

The bedroom was tiny – crew quarters – and Walter told Paige she could change first.  “Thanks,” she said flatly, sliding past him into the bathroom.  Walter dropped his bag on the desk.  The bed wasn’t big.  It wasn’t even queen sized.  Things were as awkward as ever between them and they’d have to sleep shoulder to shoulder.  Paige wasn’t going to like that.

And honestly, he wasn’t thrilled about it either.  The idea of sleeping so close to Paige was something that of itself wasn’t upsetting at all to him.  But in this context – a relationship that was nothing more than a façade, and when she was acting so indifferent to him – it was almost painful to think about.  They’d be as close physically as they’d ever been for an extended period of time, yet emotionally, she seemed so far away.

Speaking of the bed…Walter shifted his weight.  He always, _always_ slept in the middle.  But he’d never put much thought into the concept of a side of the bed.  It was all the same.  Should he ever have to have to sleep on one side or the other, he had never thought that it would matter to him where he’d end up.  But now, with that very situation before him, he felt very strongly that he would _not_ be able to sleep with himself on the left side – or the right side, as it appeared to him as he stood near the foot.

Paige walked out of the bathroom, intent on cramming her dress into her bag and going to sleep, and Walter set his jaw as she eased by him.  She wasn’t wearing anything that by itself was enticing – he’d seen pajamas like that sold at any department store for $19.99.  But _god damn_.

She looked irresistible.  Walter mentally kicked himself again for not having already told her how he felt about her.  If he had, he could tell her how she looked to him now.  He could cross the room and put his hands on her hips and lean down to kiss her. 

He cleared his throat loudly, and Paige looked at him in confusion.  Walter simply smiled – he couldn’t dare tell her that she’d overheard an attempt to reset his brain to a setting that was more appropriate, because it was in very real danger of going down a one way street.

“Bathroom is free,” she said, stating the obvious and gesturing to it.

He nodded, grabbing his own pajamas and slipping inside the tiny room, changing and splashing water on his face before returning to the bedroom.

Paige was laying on her side – on the left side.  Walter’s eyebrows ticked up a fraction.  “You uh,” he said, “you good with that side?”

“It’s fine,” she said again, just as disinterested in the conversation as they’d been all night.

 _We have compatible sides of the bed._   Walter shook his head.  “Well…” he walked around to his side, settling down on top of the covers.  She was under them; him laying on top might give off some false sense of privacy.

This whole damn trip was about false senses.

The only thing real was the only thing he wasn’t saying.

“Paige?”

“What.”

“My brain won’t power down.  I’m going to go take a walk.”

“Okay.”

He wasn’t expecting her to offer to walk with him, and if he was honest, he was glad she didn’t.  The longer they were here, the harder it was to be around her.  He wanted to tell her – he wasn’t scared – but it just wasn’t the right time.  He needed to get away from her, had to clear his head.

He ended up on the rear deck of the ship, and his phone buzzed, startling him.  He didn’t want to take a call…but he could never bring himself to ignore the person on the other end.  “Hi, Ralph.”

“Hi Walter.  Is my mom asleep?”

“She wasn’t when I left,” he said.  “But I’m not with her right now.  She was laying down though.”

“She didn’t answer when I called her, that’s why I asked,” the boy said.  “I just wanted to say goodnight to you guys.”

“Did you have a good day?” Walter asked.

There was silence.  “I guess.  A little.”

Walter knew how Paige’s son usually sounded.  Something was wrong.  “Bud,” he said, “what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” he said.  “It’s just…”

“What?” Walter hoped the boy would tell him.  He wanted to be there for Ralph.  He knew the bond he and Paige’s son shared was special, unique, based on an understanding that most people couldn’t possibly attain.  And tonight, it’d be good to get his mind off of his feelings for Paige.

“I just…it was hard watching you and my mom today.”

Of course this had to do with Paige.  “Why was that?” Walter asked.

“I don’t want to say.”

“Ralph,” he said, “you know you can tell me anything.”

He heard the boy sigh.  “When I was little, I always imagined us having a family.  There was a man in those dreams.  It used to be my father.  Then for a while, he had no discernable face.  But seeing you guys today…I can’t stop thinking about those dreams.  But you’re there.”

Walter felt something in his chest. “You…”

“I’m sorry,” Ralph said.  “You’re my friend.  It’s inappropriate to imagine you that way.”

“No, Ralph,” Walter said quickly.  “It’s not.  I uh…” he bit his lip, putting the phone between his ear and shoulder.  “You guys have become family to me.  And it’s different than how it is with, say, Happy.  Or Sly.  You and your mom are…”

“The way you feel about my mom is different too?” Ralph’s voice sounded hopeful.

Walter hesitated, then figured if there was anyone he could be completely honest with, it was this boy.  “I’m in love with your mom, Ralph.”

He was half expecting a _that’s gross_ from Ralph – after all, he was ten years old.  Instead, the voice that came through the phone was hopeful.  “Really?”

He couldn’t help but smile – it felt good to say.  “Yeah.  I do.”

“Like…like the way parents are supposed to?”

“You could say it like that,” Walter said.  He hadn’t quiet realized just how much this would affect Ralph.  What if he did finally tell Paige, and she was non-receptive to his words?  Ralph would be crushed.  “But you know, adults…things are complicated with adults.”

“What’s complicated about it?” Now Ralph sounded alost desperate.  “You love her.  And she loves you.”

“Ralph,” Walter said.  “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“She _does_ love you.”

 _She’s not acting like it tonight._ Walter withheld the words.  He didn’t blame her for being distant – he had already put her through a lot emotionally, even he knew that.  And it wasn’t fair to unload his emotional struggles on Ralph.

“I can’t tell her tonight,” Walter said.  “We’ve been lying all afternoon.  I can’t tell her that I love her when we’re pretending to be in a relationship.  She won’t think it’s real.”

Ralph was silent.  “Walter, don’t ruin things.  The three of us have something really good.  And I don’t want it to stop.”

“I know, buddy,” Walter said.  “Look, I’m gonna go get some sleep.  You hang in there, okay?”

“Please tell her.”

“I will,” he said.  “Eventually.  It’s just not the right time.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Writerfreak001 – cRAYzy Intervention**

_“Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor **fire**. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to **say** that, for destruction, ice is also great and would suffice.” _ – Robert Frost, _Fire and Ice_

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

He knew he should have called before pulling up to the garage, but… that really wasn’t his style. He was more for the surprises, and _causing_ the surprises, and boy, he could _not_ wait to see the looks on everyone’s faces once they find out that Ray Spiewack – Scorppeon’s most enthusiastic teammate - has rayturned.

As soon as he climbed out of his yellow gremlin, with one bag of donuts from Kovelsky’s crimped within his left hand, he kicked the door closed. Then, he raced up to the front door of the garage and yanked it open as fast as he could, exclaiming: “All right Scorpion peeps! As promised, like an uninvited cold sore pestering your lips, the Ray-Man is back and on track and ready to rumble! Let’s all hug it out now!” He closed his eyes and lifted his hands to the ceiling, expecting the team (mostly Sylvester, Penelope and Wally) to flock him with an embrace, but nothing happened. “All right, that’s okay,” he kept his eyes closed, “Not everyone up at once.”

The _still_ overwhelmingly silent response forced him to frown as he opened his eyes and noticed he was the only one in the room. He sighed heavily and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Aw man! I spent the whole drive practicing that!”

After placing his lunch on the conference table, he shoved his greasy hands into his pockets and strolled over to Walter’s desk, hoping to find a photo of Piper and…and…and… that Ringo kid displayed proudly on his desktop, but, to Ray’s dismay, Walter’s desk area still seemed… ordinary.

Maybe he would have more luck with the objects on Priscilla’s desk.

Eagerly, he pushed away from Wally’s desk and skipped over to Paige’s. Other than a photo of… of… of… – Gosh! Why could he never remember the kid’s name?! – of Riley(?) on both her desk and her computer, there was absolutely nothing telling him that she and Wally were a thing.

It had been five months since he ventured on his own. Five months, and it still didn’t seem like Wally and Polly were touching tamales.

He was greatly displeased.

The door suddenly opened, and Ray decided he could _still_ surprise his friends. Without thinking, he bolted for the closest hiding place – behind Toby’s desk – and squeezed into the chair space underneath. He could do this. He could totally do this. Covering his mouth with his right hand, he slowed his breathing and focused on the voices filling the room.

“For once, I am totally glad we had an easy case today,” Sylvester was the first to speak, “It was a nice change of pace.”

“I totally agree,” Toby replied, followed by a clapping sound. “Which means…,” the shrink exclaimed, “time to celebrate!”

“It’s too early to celebrate,” came Cabe’s voice. “Let’s wait to make sure we don’t have any more cases today, doc.”

A heavy sigh followed immediately. “Always so quick to ruin my fun, aren’t you, old man?”

“Call me that again, and you’ll be dancing to the bullets of my gun,” Cabe growled, causing Ray to chuckle softly. He immediately brought his other hand to his mouth to muffle the sound.

“Did you hear that?”

Ray beamed. Wally!

“Probably just the possum,” Happy replied casually.

“No… I am sure it was _not_ the possum. Sounded like it came from,” Walter paused briefly. “Whose Kovelsky’s bag is that?”

Ray mentally smacked himself but didn’t dare give up his cover.

“It’s probably mine,” Cabe was the next to speak. “I bought donuts this morning. I could have sworn I threw the bag away, but I could be wrong.”

“Having memory problems, Cabe?” Toby chuckled as Ray heard the cocking of a gun.

“What was that?!”

Ray heard Cabe cocking his gun.

“N-Nothing!”

The door opened again. “Uh, guys?”

Peggy! Finally!

“What is it, Paige?” came Walter’s immediate reply.

At least they were on speaking terms…

Before Paige could answer, Ray heard Toby’s voice grow louder. The chair was rolled away from him, and a pair of legs met his eyes as the owner sank into his computer chair. Toby’s eyes were closed as he slumped his head, and Ray thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a grand entrance.

As best as he could, he stretched his neck until he was somewhat planted between Toby’s knees and the moment Toby saw him, he grinned widely and gave a gentle wave.

Toby shrieked loudly and jumped backwards, hitting his head on a bookshelf. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

Ray climbed out from underneath the desk chair space and stretched his back, unaware of everyone staring at him. Then he turned around and exclaimed, “TA DA!!!”

“Everyone,” Paige giggled softly and gestured towards him, “Ray’s back.”

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

It had been a few hours since Ray had returned to the garage, and he was already noticing the big, fat elephant in the room. He did notice some tension between Happy and Toby, but based on his observations, he was pretty sure they were going to be all right. It might take some time, but their relationship – whatever it was – was on the mend.

If only he could say the same thing about his OTP.

They’d barely spoken two words since his arrival, but whenever Pam wasn’t looking, Walter would glance in her direction as though he had wanted to sprint over to her desk and tell her he loved her (which, by the way, WHY ARE THEY STILL DECOUPLED?!). Their relationship was obviously more of a train wreck than he thought.

Just what the heck happened during the last five months?

He seriously needed to get to the bottom of this, and fast.

But first thing’s first… he needed some grub.

…

After finishing his lunch, he pranced over to his best friend’s should-be wife and leaned against the side of her desk. “Hey, Patty, mind helping me unpack the gremlin?”

“Oh, not at all,” the liaison smiled warmly and pushed away from her computer. “I’d be happy to help.”

“Great! Fantastic!” Ray beamed and followed her out of the garage and into the alley. He leapt to the driver’s side of the car and popped the locks open with his master key. “And while we’re out here, do you _mind_ answering a question?”

“Not at all,” she nodded, unaware of what she was setting herself up for.

“Okay, awesome! So…,” he ran his index finger over the hood of his car and swiped off a streak of dirt before mindlessly rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. “Can you explain to me why you and Wally aren’t together yet? I thought I gave you explicit instructions on how to approach the whole ‘I want to be with you’ thing.”

“Oh,” Paige’s smile fell, and she frowned deeply. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Of course there is, Paige,” Ray leaned against the side of his car as her eyes snapped to his. He chuckled quietly. “I’ve known your name this whole time, and now you know that me using your actual name means me turning off my funny bone and being serious for once. So… as a friend… as Walter’s _best_ friend, talk to me.”

“How do I know what I say won’t find its way to Walter?”

“It won’t,” Ray swore. “Trust me. _You_ can trust me.”

Paige inhaled a slow, deep breath and sighed. “Let’s take a drive.”

“Of course,” he smiled, willing to comply. Without another word, he hopped into the driver’s seat of his car, and she climbed into the front passenger seat after knocking a few forgotten fries into the floor. Both of them fastened their seatbelts, and Ray started the engine.

…

…

And nothing.

He flashed an awkward smile towards Paige and scratched the back of his head. “I forgot… I ran out of gas just as I arrived.” As Paige rolled her eyes and shook her head as though she was expecting something like this to happen, he chuckled a little and added, “We can just talk here if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” Paige compromised and leaned backwards a little, staring beyond the windshield towards the bright blue sky above and in front of them. “Honestly…,” she crossed her arms and sighed softly through her nose, “I sometimes ask myself the same question. I wonder…,” she bit her lip casually, “I wonder why I didn’t approach him like you suggested. Perhaps… Perhaps if I had… Perhaps if I _did_ confront him before Linda… before Tim… then maybe… then maybe we would be together.”

Ray’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “So a lot _did_ happen while I was gone.”

Paige nodded slowly.

“It’s like Walter’s been nothing but a walking contradiction since you’ve left, and I’m not blaming you, Ray,” Paige turned slightly and touched his arm. “You were good to him, and you helped him see things in different ways… ways that I could never teach him, but… I guess… I guess after Megan’s death, something changed…. I don’t… I can’t really explain it myself because, at one point, I thought things were going well… I thought we were finally going somewhere, but… then he started a speed dating experiment.”

“Speed dating?”

“Speed dating,” Paige frowned as she focused on picking at her fingernails. “He thought it was a good experiment to meet new people, and well, I encouraged him to meet new people, to branch out of Scorpion, but… I never… I never anticipated he would want to meet other women.”

“Wow,” Ray blinked. “Just… wow.”

“Yeah….”

“So I’m guessing he met this Linda girl at that speed dating joint….” Ray concluded, and Paige nodded again, confirming his thoughts.

“And at first, Linda didn’t want to date Walter anymore because of his involvement with Scorpion… because someone targeted her in order to get to us… the team…. Dating a genius was not something she signed up for, so, after Linda left, things started going well again between us, but he still believed workplace entanglements were bad for the team so… I didn’t bother telling him.” She took a deep breath and continued, and Ray didn’t dare interrupt again. “He said one thing, but his actions, the way he was willing to throw everything away to save me from certain deadly situations, was something completely different, and it was all so confusing! And then Tim came along… the newest addition to the team. Tim was so nice to me and paid attention to me, and I started to like him – a lot – but… but he wasn’t Walter, and yet I tried so hard to put aside my feelings for Walter and see where things would go with Tim, but… Walter….

“And then Linda came back! LINDA CAME BACK, and Walter didn’t think twice about giving her a second shot so I decided that if Walter wasn’t going to admit his feelings, then I figured it was time for me to move on so I said yes to Tim about going to dinner. Just dinner. But then it turned out that Linda had developed some sort of Superman Complex or whatever and that she was blinded by Walter’s heroism to realize that she didn’t like any of the things Walter liked, and so they broke up. A few weeks passed, and nothing. Nothing, but… when Tim left for physical therapy or training or whatever – I really can’t remember at this point, Walter and I had a few moments, and they reminded me how much I… I…, but then Tahoe. He gave Tim and me tickets to Tahoe.” Paige suddenly grabbed Ray by the shoulders and shook him more violently than he expected. “Did you hear me?! Walter Patrick O’Brien gave _me_ tickets to go to a weekend getaway _with another man_! WHO DOES THAT?!”

Ray opened his mouth to speak because he thought she was done, but he didn’t realize what sort of Pandora’s Box he had unleashed until she started rambling again.

“I gave Walter a second chance… I don’t know if it was because I didn’t want to leave when Happy and Toby were so messed up and upset and hurt or if it was because I subconsciously didn’t want to go to Tahoe without… without Walter, or maybe it was both, but I gave that big idiot a second chance.” Her sudden laugh sent chills down Ray’s spine. It was almost like they were at a bar, and she was drowning her sorrows in small increments, taking another sip of scotch as she shared with him the different pieces of her broken heart. Her toned soften and her fists clenched tightly. “But…,” her voice quivered, “But he still insisted I leave for Tahoe… with Tim.” She finally looked at Ray as tears fell down her cheeks. “Tell me…, was I wrong to wait? Was I foolish for thinking that he and I… that he and I could make things work?”

Ray’s eyes softened and he touched her hand. “I don’t think so… Walter may be an idiot sometimes – and sometimes a bigger idiot than yours truly,” she smiled and giggled a little at his response, “but don’t give up just yet. Something tells me you two will be okay… Maybe not now… maybe not tomorrow, but someday, Paige. Someday things will be great, and you wanna know why?”

Paige sniffed softly and dabbed her eyes, careful not to smear her mascara.

“Because you’ve got me, the Ray Man, and the Raymyster,” he pointed to himself, “puts the RAY into GRAYT!”

Paige bit her lip and smiled appreciatively, giving Ray a small hug. “I hope you’re right.”

“I am,” Ray patted her softly on the back. “I know I am.” He pulled back gently and said, “You and me. Dinner tonight. I want to tell you where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing these past five months. I would if I could right now, but I’m sweating like a pig. So… let’s say…, Escala at Seven?”

“Escala? That’s… That’s a fancy restaurant. We couldn’t possibly go there for dinner,” Paige frowned. “I mean, I’d love to hear about your stories, but… Escala? Can you even afford Escala?”

“Nope,” Ray grinned widely, “But… let’s just say I’ve got a friend who owes me big and what better way than to spend a nice dinner conversation with my favorite Scorpion lady?”

Paige’s lips grew into a colorful smile.

“Escala, it is, then.”

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

After Paige finished helping Ray unpack his gremlin – a task he _actually_ needed help with, he scampered up the stairs to the loft and found Walter at his desk, staring at his phone.

“You know,” Ray chuckled when the genius jumped from his _second_ sudden arrival, his phone fumbling from his hands, “when I returned from my five-month vacay, I totally thought you and Penny would be on your honeymoon by now.” Ray ignored Walter’s eye roll and leaned against the wall, catching a glimpse of Paige’s portrait staining Walter’s phone background. He smirked but didn’t mention it, yet. “Care to tell me why you two haven’t done the horizontal tango yet?”

“That,” Walter forced a smile and mindlessly turned over his phone, “is none of your business.”

“At least tell me why you two aren’t dating yet. I mean, come on, I thought you two would be a pod of peas right now. If I knew five months would pass without any progress, then I would have stayed a little while longer to make sure you two were hitting it off.” Ray decided against telling Walter about his previous conversation with Paige and threw his hands up into the air. “Come on, Wally! What happened?!”

“A lot.”

“Explain.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Walter frowned, folding his arms in front of him, “like I said before, it’s none of your business.”

Walter thought he was putting on a good front, but Ray could read right through him. 

“You’re wanting to tell your future wife you love her but you have no frackin clue how to tell her, and each time you try, you’re either interrupted or you chicken out at the last minute.” Walter blinked with a horrified expression on his face, and Ray smirked. “Am I right?”

“Nnnnnoooo,” Walter tugged at his collar and blushed deeply.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Ray chuckled and Walter actually smiled a little. “So, want some advice?”

“From you?” Walter paused for a minute and then shrugged. “Sure. Why not.”

“Just tell her.”

Walter cocked an eyebrow. “I’ve tried….”

“Wally. It’s three words. The worst she could say is no or that she doesn’t love you back, but… think about it. Do you really think Petunia –”

“Paige.”

“Hm?”

“Paige. Her name is Paige.”

“Oh. Right. Whatever. As I was saying: do you really think Patsy would say no? I mean, come on, dude! She has the hots for you!” Ray practically jumped up and down and pointed to the door. “Now go down there and tell her! Don’t worry about having an audience. Just tell her. You _need_ to tell her before it’s too late.”

“Before it’s too late…” Walter repeated as he stared at the door.

“Yes. Now tell her.”

Walter recalled what Cabe had said and frowned. Women didn’t like being told those sorts of things in public settings. He couldn’t just barge downstairs in the middle of the workday and blurt it out to her…. That would be horrifying!

“If you don’t,” Ray back stepped towards the door, “I will.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

He took another back step, and Walter advanced him. Ray spun around and sprinted towards the door, swinging it open just wide enough to squeeze through the opening and grab the railing. “HEY PAYTON!” Everyone glanced up at him, including Paige. “WALTER’S IN L—”

Before he knew it, a hand flew to his mouth, and he was dragged inside the loft with incredible strength.

“What the hell, Ray?!”

“If you’re not going to tell her, then someone has to. She needs to know, and I think you’ve made her wait long enough. If you don’t tell her soon, then she may never want to reciprocate no matter how much she wants to because, if memory serves me correctly, she’s been heartbroken once already. There’s only so much time before she decides to close herself up to you in order to guard her heart. Do you want that?”

“No,” Walter shook his head immediately. “I don’t.” He raked his fingers through his curly hair and sighed. “I want her to know… I need her to know how much I love her, but… I just…,” Walter’s eyes found Rays. “I’ve never done this before, and I want to do it right. You have no idea how many times I’ve tried to tell her… I promise I _will_ , but I _need_ it to be right. I want her to know that I’m in 100%... I just don’t know how.”

“Trust me,” Ray gave his best friend a thumb’s up. “When the time is right, you’ll know when. Just… just don’t wait too long, okay?”

“Okay,” Walter nodded swiftly.

“Good talk,” Ray patted Walter’s shoulder. “Now, you. Me. Escala’s at seven. I want to help you prep for the big reveal. What do you say?”

“Kovelsky’s would work just fine…,” Walter replied as though Ray had just opened an old wound of his. “Escala’s is a place I’d like to take Paige one day…, and I’d rather my first time going there be with her and not you, no offence.”

“None taken,” Ray smiled, “but… if you plan on taking Paris to Escala’s, then shouldn’t you go there beforehand as research so you’d know exactly what to expect when you actually go there for real? That way, there would be no surprises, and your future date with Paisley will be perfecto!”

Walter paused for a moment, and Ray could tell he was considering his offer. “Okay. Fine. That’s actually not a bad idea. But… who’s paying for this?”

“Why you are,” Ray grinned wickedly.

“And who’s getting the reservations…? They only take reservations; you know?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Ray lifted an eyebrow, and Walter clucked his tongue.

“Right. One reservation for two under the name Spiewack coming right up….”

“Put it under O’Brien since I’m the one mooching. Plus… It’s easier to pronounce.” Ray beamed, and Walter rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Fine.”

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Seven was vastly approaching, but there was no sign of either Walter or Paige. In order for his plan to work, he convinced Tony – the restaurant’s owner and also one of his few friends since way back when – to let him sit a few tables from the O’Brien reservation, and was dressed in a disguise so his friends wouldn’t recognize him.

He was wearing a gray bearded wig, large glasses and a trench coat with a newspaper in his hands to make him look like he was busier than he needed to be. After reading the same article three times, in walked Walter, obviously looking for him. He heard the man ask for their table, and as he was being led to the O’Brien reservation, in walked Paige, also looking for him.

Walter actually suited up, but Paige was absolutely exquisite. Ray might not be the one smitten with her, but she was definitely a sight worth seeing. Her hair was gently curled, framing her face in a subtle fashion, and she was wearing a long black dress which flowed freely down her body, accentuating her features.

Walter definitely was in trouble tonight, and Ray was more than excited to witness a faltering Walter.

This plan was too perfect.

“Can I help you?” He heard the waitress ask the liaison, but Paige shook her head, claiming to be waiting for a friend.

Walter was close enough to hear her voice right away and immediately spun around, his breath catching at the mere sight of her. Ray grinned, and Paige’s eyes lit up, surprised to see her boss, but then she smiled and walked towards him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Walter cleared his throat and offered her the seat in front of him.

“Oh, I shouldn’t,” Paige flushed slightly, and Ray could tell she was suddenly aware of the genius’s eyes appreciating her ensemble. “I mean… You’re waiting for someone, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but he’s running late.”

“He?” Paige cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s a business dinner,” Walter was quick to add.

“Oh…,” Paige looked around as though she was looking for Ray again, and found Walter’s soft brown eyes again. “Do you need me present? I’m sure I can help.”

“I should be okay,” Walter laughed lightly. “After all, all I am doing is talking to Ray.”

“Ray?”

Uh-oh.

“Yeah.”

“You’re here to meet Ray?”

“Yes,” Walter frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” she shook her head slowly, suddenly sitting down in front of Walter. “It’s just that… I was supposed to meet Ray here, too. He wanted to tell me about where he’s been and what he’s been up to these past five months…. Did he invite you too?”

“Yes, but for a completely different reason,” Walter blinked, definitely confused.

Ray couldn’t help but snicker in the background. This was too good!

“Looks like Ray set us up….”

“You think so?”

Paige nodded with certainty. “Yes. I know so.” She started to stand. “I’m… I’m sorry if I’m intruding…. I should go.”

Walter suddenly reached for Paige’s hand. “Don’t.”

Their eyes met instantly, and Walter immediately looked away and withdrew his palm from her wrist. “Sorry. I just… this is a nice restaurant and we’re both already here…. We shouldn’t waste a kind gesture even if… even if Ray’s making me pay for it.”

Paige laughed melodically, and Ray quietly fist-bumped the air. _Yes!_

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Both Paige’s and Walter’s eyes were wide, and he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. “I mean… I… I would enjoy your company greatly… if you wouldn’t m-mind.”

Paige dropped back down onto the seat and gave Walter a small smile. “I don’t mind.”

“Good.”

Ray was impressed. He knew Wally had it bad for Paige Dineen, but he didn’t realize just how much power the woman possessed over him. One minute, he was fine and fully functional, but now he was slightly impulsive.

Maybe he might even summon the courage to drop the L bomb on her tonight.

One could only hope.

“So,” Paige was the first to speak after a while of silence, “I have a question…, and you might not want to answer it…, but something’s been bothering me for a while, and… I just need to know the truth.”

“Okay…?” Walter leaned forward slightly, filled with curiosity.

Paige took a sip of her wine before finding Walter’s eyes. “Why did you go to Tahoe?”

Ray perked up and glanced over at his two friends. This was certainly new information, and something Paige did not tell him during her spiel earlier that day. And why didn’t Walter tell him either?! Weren’t they best friends? Didn’t they share everything with each other? He frowned and was going to have a serious talk with Walter tomorrow, assuming that the genius wasn’t going to be occupied elsewhere.

Ray had high hopes though.

“W-Why did I g-go to Tahoe?” Walter nearly choked on his water as he swallowed. “H-How did you know I went?”

Paige’s fingers fiddled with each other underneath the table. “I… I overheard Sylvester saying something about it to you right before you wanted to say something to me… you claimed it was pretty important, too.”

“Oh, um…,” Walter scratched the side of his face nervously. “There’s actually a simple explanation for that….”

“Which is,” she leaned a little closer.

“Which is… Um… Well… You see, I….”

“You…?”

“I….”

“Yes?”

“Um…,” Walter gulped loudly and mindlessly loosened his tie. “Paige,” he clenched his hands, “I l—”

_Splash!_

“Oh my God,” a waitress exclaimed. “I am sooo sorry! C-Can I get you a towel?”

Walter blinked for several seconds as an empty bucket of ice spiraled in circles around his head. He then noticed the empty bottle of Champagne rolling off his leg so he caught it quickly but not before it poured more than half of its contents over his crotch.

The waitress was absolutely horrified.

Walter slowly lifted the bucket off of his head and silently handed it and the bottle to the waitress before she scurried off to fetch her manager. Walter sighed, and Paige – from Ray’s point of view – rolled her lips inward, trying so hard not to laugh.

But she couldn’t hold it in any longer than Ray could keep himself from falling out of his chair in fits of laughter. He then heard Walter joining her, and hearing his best friend laugh was probably the best thing in the world right now. Ray gathered his composure, fixed his wig and coughed as he saw Paige drop quite a few bills on the table. Then she extended her hand over to Walter with a happy smile on her face and said, “Come on. Let’s get back so you can dry off.”

“Okay,” Walter nodded, grinning. Taking her hand, she led him out of the restaurant, and Ray quickly followed, needing to see this night – well most of it, anyway – through. He followed the pair and found them heading towards Paige’s car, and he ducked when Walter snapped his head into his direction. “Cabe had to borrow my car for the night so he dropped me off here… Do you mind…?”

“Taking you home?”

Walter swiftly nodded.

“It’s no problem,” Paige gestured for him to climb into the vehicle. “I’d be happy to.”

“Thanks,” Walter smiled, starting to make his way to the other side of the Chevy. He suddenly turned around. “Uh, Paige?”

“Yes?”

Walter bit his lip. “…Trust in me, okay?”

Paige inhaled a deep breath as her lips slightly parted.

And then she smiled. “Okay.”

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

As soon as his friends were out of sight, he stripped out of his costume and jumped into the air in victory, knowing his plan had worked.

Even if neither of his friends confessed their feelings tonight, at least they were on the road to recoveRAY. And that in itself was a gRAYt accomplishment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – FoxPhile - Dancing in the Eye of the Hurricane**

_“You can dance in a hurricane, but only if you’re standing in the eye.” ~Brandi Carlile_

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

They were nearly back to the garage when Walter’s cellphone rang.  He fished the instrument out of his pocket, his movements hampered by the very damp fabric.  He noted the caller id and turned to Paige.

 

“It’s Cabe,” he informed her. 

 

“Ugh,” she moaned.  “That’s it.  Toby jinxed it.  He had to talk about celebrating our last case and now we’ve got another one before the day is out.” 

 

“Yea, Cabe,” Walter said.  
  
“Hey Walt,” came Cabe’s voice from the instrument.  “Sorry to interrupt your um… dinner with **_Ray_** ,”

 

Paige cocked her head at the unmistakable emphasis in Cabe’s voice.  She wondered just how many people on the team were in on Ray’s little trick.  Was there a conspiracy going on?

 

“I just got a call from big brass in the Navy.  They’ve got a computer problem and they want the one and only Walter O’Brien’s help.  I need you back at the garage pronto so we can catch a helo to Miramar.”

 

“Uh… I’m actually on my way.  Should be there is just about five minutes.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Now Paige noted a distinct tone of disappointment in Cabe’s voice.  She wasn’t just imagining this, was she?

 

“Uh… I don’t suppose you might know where I can find Paige, do you?” Cabe’s voice asked.

 

“I uh… I can get in touch with her,” Walter replied.  “The two of us will meet you at the garage in a few minutes.”

 

Paige noted a small smile on the genius’ face and thought he might be suspecting the same thing she was suspecting.  For a moment, she wondered if Cabe really had an actual case for them, or if he was just doing some plotting of his own.  Then she realized that if Cabe was in on the ‘Get Walter and Paige together’ plot, he wouldn’t interrupt Ray’s contrived dinner party for two.  On the other hand… if he somehow knew of the disaster at Escala…

 

“Should we drive around for a few minutes to make your story seem legit?” she asked. 

 

She couldn’t be certain in the twilight, but Paige thought Walter might be blushing. 

 

“We could drive around for an hour and I don’t think Cabe would be fooled.  Delay is inefficient, especially if this is a legitimate case.”

 

Paige darted a look at her passenger.  His grin was sheepish, but it was there.  She wasn’t just imagining things, Walter must also suspect that there was more than one member of Scorpion playing matchmaker.  She responded with a small smile of her own, then turned back to her driving. 

 

“I don’t care what Cabe says, I’m not leaving the garage until I can get you out of those wet pants!”

 

“Wh…what?” Walter squeaked. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

True to her word, Paige refused to leave the garage until Walter had a chance to shower and change into dry clothing.  He smiled as he briskly toweled himself and began to assemble a clean outfit for their trip.  Paige could be as fierce as a mother lioness when the welfare of Scorpion or its members were concerned.  Walter suddenly realized that, where Scorpion was concerned, he needed to trust Paige as much as he wanted her to trust in him.  If they were in a relationship, she would not let that interfere with Scorpion.  She cared for the team as much as – perhaps more than – he did. 

 

He felt some of the tension that had wound him for several days falling away.  He was still nervous about telling Paige what he needed to tell her.  He still needed to get it right – the right setting, the right words, and the right privacy.  He still worried how she would respond.  Would she tell him she loved him, too?   Or would she tell him he’d waited too long?  The possibility of the latter gave him a chilly feeling in the center of his chest and caused him to sweat.  But he was less concerned now about the effect of either response on the other love of his life – his team.  With renewed determination, he decided that he would simply tell her, the next time they were alone together; provided the setting held something of what he understood as romance.  Paige deserved romance; he didn’t want to neglect that element. 

 

He dressed quickly and was about to go downstairs when Sylvester announced his presence from the kitchen. 

 

“Walter?” he yelled.  “Are you decent?”

 

“I’m dressed, if that’s what you mean,” Walter replied.

 

“Good,” the math genius said as he hustled around the corner and into Walter’s bedroom.  “I need to talk to you before you go.”

 

“Cabe’s not going to like that.  He’s in a big hurry to get going.”  Walter sighed and made a hand motion indicating that his friend should get on with it. 

 

Sly began to pace.  “Megan… before she died… Megan asked me to look out for you.  She was worried about you.”  He stopped and turned to look Walter in the eye.  “You’re about to blow this, Walter, and Megan will never forgive me if I let you do that!”

 

“You’re not making any sense, Sylvester.  What are you talking about?”

 

“YOU!” Sly replied.  “You and Paige.  “Megan understood how you feel about her and she knew how Paige feels about you.  She was afraid if somebody didn’t push you, you’d never make a move and it’s beginning to look like she was right.”

 

Walter sat down on the bed, shoving aside the shirt he’d discarded.  It wasn’t soaked, as the pants were, but there were damp spots on it, so Walter decided he needed to hang it up.  He grabbed it and made his way to the bathroom. 

 

“I… I’ve come to realize that I have feelings for Paige, Sly.  In fact, I love her.  I’ve been trying to tell her, but it seems like something always happens to get in the way.”  He looked around for a hanger.  Not finding one, he just tossed the shirt over the shower curtain rod.  It would have to be sufficient for the time being.  He returned to where Sly was back to his pacing.

 

“You love her… you love her…” the younger man was muttering.  “That’s good… that’s GREAT!  Then you have to tell her that.”

 

“Like I said, Sly, I’ve been trying to tell her.  In fact, that’s why I went to Tahoe.  But every time I try to tell her, we get a case or I get soaked or… something.”

 

“I happen to know that this next case is in Bermuda.  It’s incredibly romantic there, Walter.  It will be the perfect place.  Do you know they have whole businesses there that help people coordinate romantic proposals?”

 

“I’m… I’m not ready to propose, Sly.  But I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind.”  Walter couldn’t help smiling at his friend’s enthusiasm.  “How do you know so much about this?”

 

“It was one of the things Megan always wanted to do.  One of the things we didn’t… didn’t get to.” Sylvester’s face clouded over with sadness for a moment.  “She… she got too sick before we could do it.”  Sly managed a small smile before he continued, looking down at his feet.  “I started looking into it, and I thought… it would be the perfect place to… to propose.  But I never got that chance.”  Looking back up, his eyes bored into his friend’s.  “Don’t blow your chance, Walter.  Paige isn’t sick, thank god.  But you can’t afford to wait until it’s too late.”

 

“I always wondered…” Walter whispered, musing to himself. 

 

“I wanted to marry her, Walter.  It wasn’t just… just a ploy.  I loved her.”

 

Walter rose and wrapped his arms around the man he’d rescued as a kid, who was now his brother.  “I know you did.  I know.  It’s just nice to… to **_really_** know.”

 

The two men parted, but Sly stopped Walter once more before he went downstairs.  “Make sure Paige **_really_** knows how you feel about her… soon.”

 

Walter made his way downstairs where Cabe and Paige were talking. 

 

“This case is extremely sensitive.  The Navy wanted just Walter to go, but I told them he needed you along to help him deal with any personal interaction issues. It was a near thing, but I made them see things my way.”

 

“You make me sound like some sort of idiot savant, Cabe.  I’m perfectly capable of interacting with people without causing a problem,” Walter said as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

 

The agent and the liaison turned together.  “No, you’re not,” They both said, in unison. 

 

  **. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

It was midnight by the time they finally boarded the military transport that would take them from Miramar Air Station to Norfolk Naval Base on the other side of the country.  Since Cabe knew Paige carried a go bag in the trunk of her car, he refused to budge on the subject of her going home to change out of her Escala finery.  Getting into a helicopter wearing four-inch heels was a challenge. 

 

Flying in a military transport jet was always in interesting experience.  Generally, the space was shared with troops or a small number of other military personnel… and cargo.  Usually, the cargo had the better accommodations.  Paige was currently sheltered behind a stack of cargo trunks, changing into casual slacks, a comfortable shirt and shoes more suited to travel.  She carefully rolled her black dress and tucked it into the side of her go bag, hoping that it would not suffer too much from the poor treatment.  Although it wasn’t her intent, since she’d had no idea Walter would be there, the dress had a very gratifying effect on the genius.  She hoped it would get the chance to do that again someday.  Returning from her shelter, she rejoined Walter and Cabe and strapped herself into the jump seat for the remainder of the trip to Norfolk.

 

“Cabe says we should get some sleep while we can,” Walter whispered, indicating the agent who was lightly snoring.  “We’ve got about six hours in the air before we get to Norfolk, then we’ll be briefed on the plane to Bermuda and expected to get right to work.”

 

Walter reached over and pulled her shoulder strap snug.  His hand lingered a moment on hers, while he glanced around at the others on the plane.  Most were napping, but a few were reading and two were playing games on a handheld device.  He sighed, then leaned back in his seat, wrapped his arms around his waist and mumbled, “Good night.”

 

Paige closed her eyes and tried to take his advice. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

Cabe remained behind in Norfolk.  Paige and Walter were briefed, as promised, on the short flight from Norfolk to Bermuda.  The crew of a small Navy vessel had been found adrift in life boats about 20 miles northeast of the island.  They had apparently been drugged because none of them had any memory of how they got in the life boats or what happened to the ship.  The ship was found scuttled.  Although it was a small ship, like any Navy vessel there were computers on board and those computers contained some classified information.  Walter’s mission was simple – salvage what he could from the computers and find out if the information contained on them had been compromised. 

 

The two were ushered quickly off the small jet that landed them at the Bermuda International Airport and whisked to a small meteorological base on the eastern end of the island, not far from the airport.  Paige knew Bermuda was small, but she never realized how small.  Their escort explained that the airport was situated on one of the widest sections of the island, which was just 21 miles long and 2 miles wide at its widest point.  

 

While Walter worked, Paige had ample time to think.  They were locked in a small windowless room with a coffee station, a small refrigerator stocked with drinks and a supply of snacks and MREs if they got hungry.  A pair of cots flanked one wall, and there was a tiny bathroom, also windowless.  Paige realized the Navy escort was serious when he told them that security around this mission was paramount and they would not be allowed to leave the room or have outside communication of any kind for the duration.  It would have been an ideal environment for a serious talk if not for the Navy Shore Patrol officer stationed at the door.  Paige could only hope that Walter would work quickly.  He hardly needed her skills unless he went completely off the deep end and decided to insult the SP.  In that event, there wasn’t much she could do in the face of the armed and highly trained sailor.  Maybe Cabe should have sent Tim on this case?

 

The thought of Tim brought Paige back to the subject of Walter’s mysterious actions of late.  He insisted he needed to talk to her, but his adamant need for privacy thwarted his intent every time.  He’d said he only needed to say “a few words”.  If that was the case, couldn’t he have simply whispered them to her?  What was this all about, anyway?  Paige didn’t want to allow herself to hope.  She’d been disappointed by Walter too many times in the past.  Too many times, she thought he was warming to the idea of a relationship – she could see it in his eyes and feel it in his rare touches – only to have him pull back and spout nonsense about relationships threatening Scorpion’s equilibrium.  As if she would let anything sabotage the team that had done so much for her son.   

 

For a moment, Paige allowed herself to think about how she would respond if Walter did tell her he wanted to explore a relationship.  How would he do that, anyway?  Would he ask her on a date?  Would he simply suggest they spend more time together?  Would he kiss her and let that do his talking for him?

 

They’d been in a few very romantic situations recently.  If he wanted a relationship, why didn’t he take those opportunities to tell her?  It was all very frustrating and confusing. 

 

She wondered if he had waited too long.  Was she even still willing to take a chance on this?

 

If he’d told her before Tahoe – before Tim - but Paige knew Walter wasn’t ready then.  Back then, Walter didn’t know what love was.  She wondered if that had changed.  Was that why he went to Tahoe?

 

Would it be enough now for him to simply ask her out?  That’s how most relationships began.  But with all she’d been through with Walter O’Brien, Paige felt she needed more from him.  She **_deserved_** more from him.  Something that would let her know that all the waiting and heartache were worth it. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

After sitting nearly motionless for several hours, Walter announced that he was done. 

 

“I’ll contact Naval Intelligence,” The SP officer said, pulling out a satellite phone. 

 

Paige got up from where she was lying on one of the cots and walked over to the desk.  “What did you find?” she asked. 

 

“Nothing, actually,” he responded.  “Which is a good thing, really.  No signs of tampering, all the data is intact.  But that still doesn’t shed any light on what happened to the ship,” he sighed. 

 

Paige laid a hand on his shoulder.  She knew he was tired.  “I have an idea,” she announced, getting up and walking over to the SP. 

 

It took some doing, and it wasn’t completely ideal, but Paige pleaded a case of claustrophobia to the SP and convinced the man to allow them to take a short walk on the nearby beach while they waited for their escort to return.  After hours of mute silence, suddenly Mr. Shore Patrol got chatty. 

 

“It’s none of my business, but you two are… aren’t you?”  He smiled knowingly and winked.  “I get it.  I’ll have to keep you in sight, so no hanky-panky on the beach.  But I’ll try to stay out of listening distance.  It’s late afternoon; maybe you can work things so you can stay the night on the island.  My girlfriend surprised me and flew here a few weeks ago for my birthday.  We got a room at one of the beachfront hotels.  Really nice – really romantic,” he said. 

 

Paige blushed, but didn’t respond.  If the man thought she and Walter wanted a beach rendezvous, and that got him to let them outside, she wasn’t going to correct him. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

“Thanks for this,” Walter said as he and Paige walked along the tiny beach, enjoying the late afternoon sun and the calming effects of the crystal blue ocean waves lapping against the shore. 

 

The SP explained that most of the beaches in Bermuda were like this one; short stretches of the signature pink sand that hugged one of the hundreds of small coves around the island.  This one was within the confines of the meteorological base, and thus was deserted.  After his little explanation, the SP hung back and allowed them to continue on, cautioning them not to wander past the small outcropping that divided this cove from the next.   

 

The temperature was dropping quickly and Paige began to wish she had brought a light sweater.  She thought Bermuda was in the Caribbean and was surprised to learn that it was actually in the mid-Atlantic, at about the same latitude as North Carolina.  May was the start of summer on the island, but the temperature often dropped to the 60s or even the 50s at night. 

 

Walter stopped and sat down on the sand, patting the spot next to him in invitation.

 

“The beach always reminds me of Megan,” he said, wrapping his arms around his knees and rocking a bit back and forth. 

 

Paige hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with a melancholy Walter.  The thought didn’t make her feel very good about herself, although she knew she would always support him, whatever he needed from her.  But she was at her own emotional limit right now.  She needed to know if she would be supporting him as a friend… or as something more. 

 

“I’ve never understood the fascination people have with beaches,” he was saying.  “But Megan really liked it, so I used to take her, whenever she was well enough to go.  We’d get some of the junk food she loved and she’d sit on the sand and stuff her face.  I’ve never seen her so happy – at least, not until Sly.  Sly made her even happier.”

 

He paused and Paige sensed he was looking at her.  She turned to look back at him.  After a moment, she realized he wasn’t looking away.  He reached a hand over and took hers, looking down at their linked fingers.  When he looked back up he was smiling. 

 

“Paige…” he began. 

 

The look in his eyes was intense.  Paige had seen that look before, but in the past, he usually looked away.  As she waited, expectant but also unnerved, his eyes widened.  Suddenly, he stood up, bringing her to her feet with him. 

 

“What?” she stammered, confused. 

 

“We’ve been through an earthquake together… and a tornado.  Have you ever been through a hurricane?”

 

“A hurricane?”

 

Following his gaze, she saw what alarmed him.  The sky to the southwest was dark and threatening.  There was an odd orange tinge below and around the mass of clouds. 

 

“We need to get back!” he shouted and, taking her hand he took off at a run back towards where the SP was waiting. 

 

Seeing them running, the sailor immediately drew his sidearm.  Paige hoped the man realized that if they were running **_toward_** him, they were hardly attempting some sort of escape. 

 

Walter pointed behind them and shouted, “HURRICANE!”

 

“What are you talking about?  It’s too early for hurricanes!” The man shouted back.  Then he looked up where Walter was pointing.  Shock bloomed on the man’s face and he replaced his gun and ran toward them, ushering them quickly off the beach and into the scrub that separated the beach from the road and the buildings on the other side. 

 

“Come on!” he urged, flinging open the door to the station and waving them inside.  Once in the building, he immediately got out his satellite phone. 

 

“I don’t understand,” Paige said, panting.  “I thought hurricanes were easy to track.  Shouldn’t we have gotten some warning?”

 

“It’s not even hurricane season yet,” Walter commented.  He took several ragged breaths before continuing.  “And we’ve been completely cut off from communication.  There are sometimes rogue hurricanes that hit out of season.  While hurricanes brush near Bermuda frequently, direct hits aren’t very common.  When they do happen, they are often a surprise.  A hurricane will start its path up the Eastern Seaboard from Florida and suddenly veer east towards Bermuda.  That’s what happened with Joaquin last year.  It wasn’t a direct hit, but it passed close enough to cause severe wind and water damage.”

 

The SP closed his phone and walked over to where the pair were seated on a bench.  “It’s a hurricane, all right.  Yesterday evening they thought it was headed towards the Georgia coast.  Then it suddenly turned west and now it’s headed straight here.  The last few flights off the island for tonight have been cancelled – even private flights are grounded, so it looks like you two won’t be going anywhere tonight.”

 

“You mean we’re stuck **_here_**?”  Paige moaned, looking around the tiny office. 

 

“No,” the SP assured her.  “Lieutenant Mitchell is on his way.  He should be here in just a few minutes.  He’ll get you to one of the hotels that is taking in stranded tourists.  Most of the cruise ships have put out to sea to avoid the storm.  They can’t stay at the docks or they risk serious damage.  Any of their guests who weren’t on board when they left are stuck on the island now.  So whatever hotel you wind up at is likely to be pretty crowded.  You might wind up bunking in the lobby, but you’ll be perfectly safe.  The building codes in Bermuda are real strict when it comes to hurricanes.  Even in the worst storm a building might get a damaged roof, but the structure will stand.”

 

Paige looked towards Walter.   He hesitated, then put an arm around her and drew her closer.  He looked up at the SP.  “Officer?  Would it be possible?  That is… Paige here… I think she would like to call her son, if that’s possible.”  He turned to look at Paige.  He shouldn’t need confirmation, but in case he did, she smiled at him.  She desperately wanted to talk to Ralph.  

 

 “I’m… I’m not really supposed to let you guys use the phone.”

 

Paige’s face fell and she turned her head into Walter’s shoulder. 

 

“She’s… she’s really upset,” Walter pleaded.  “It would help a lot if you would let her call her son.  He’s just ten.”

 

The SP looked thoughtful a moment.  Then he smiled.  “I guess it would be okay – but real quick, okay?”

 

Paige jumped up, then turned and put her hands on either side of Walter’s face, bent down and kissed him quickly.  “Thank you, thank you!” she cried, then she ran over to the SP, and eagerly took the phone. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

After a few moments, they heard a horn honking outside.  The SP went to open the door, only to be greeted by sheets of rain that blew inside.  He turned back to the couple sitting on the bench. 

 

“I guess the lieutenant doesn’t want to get out of his car and I can’t say that I blame him.  You’re going to have to make a dash for it.”

 

“What about you?” Paige asked.  

 

“I’ll be fine, miss.  I got my scooter here and don’t live far.  I’ll get a little wet getting home, but I been wet plenty times before.  You two best get moving, though.  In my experience, Navy lieutenants aren’t known for their patience.”

 

Walter and Paige stood and approached the door.  “You run for the front door, I’ll get in the back.” Walter said.  Then they were dashing through the rain, down the long walkway to the street.  Paige reached the car first, although she suspected Walter purposefully stayed behind her.  She tore open the front door of the car and quickly climbed inside.  The wind caught the door and ripped it out of her hands.  Walter, who had opened the back door and was about to get in, stood up and grabbed her door.  Checking to be sure she was inside, he shoved the door closed, then got into the back seat and reached out to grab his own door and close it. 

 

The noise of the storm was deafening, but inside the car it was quieter. 

 

“Sorry I didn’t get here soon enough to avoid you two getting soaked,” their driver said as he quickly turned the car around and began to drive back towards the airport. 

 

“It’s all right,” Walter responded, trying to wipe the wet curls out of his face.  He thought for a moment of wringing his shirt out, but he didn’t think it would be nice to create a big… or rather bigger… puddle in the man’s car.  “I’m beginning to think I’m doomed to get wet anytime I’m with this woman.”

 

“Walter!” Paige laughed.  “You can’t possibly think I’m responsible for the hurricane… or for the ice… or the champagne.”

 

“No, I don’t.  But there was the tornado… and the dam… and the submarine… and the sprinklers in the mall.  Before you joined Scorpion all of our jobs were… dry.”

 

He smiled to let her know he was only joking.  It was true that their jobs before Paige joined were dry and safe… but also boring.  Plus he knew that Cabe and Homeland Security were more to blame for the conditions they so often found themselves in, not Paige. 

 

“I like this,” Paige said.

 

“What?”

 

“Us… laughing… joking… I like that.”

 

Walter smiled. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

The trip across the island was certainly exciting.  The most harrowing moments came when Lieutenant Mitchell eased the car across a very narrow bridge and onto the causeway – a short, narrow land bridge that connected the airport to the main island.  Paige could see waves crashing across the bridge and wondered if they might not get swept away. 

 

“Don’t worry, folks.  It’s been a while since we had a hurricane strong enough to cut off the causeway.  We’ll be fine.  I wouldn’t recommend trying to walk across, though.”  He pointed at a small group of people doing just that.  “People get swept away from here.” 

 

“Is this… is this a big hurricane?” Paige asked.  Hurricanes were something that hit the Eastern US and the Gulf.  She knew there were Pacific hurricanes as well, but they never hit the California coast. 

 

“Well, it’s a category 3 right now, that’s pretty big.  It’s just starting, though.  It’s gonna get a lot worse than this as the eye approaches.  After the eye passes over, it shouldn’t be too bad after that.  We’re getting the northeast side of the storm first, which is where the strongest winds are.  It should pass pretty quickly, too.  This hurricane is moving fast, it should be all over by tomorrow morning.”

 

Worse than this? Paige thought.  Rain was falling sideways past the car windows and winds were wiping the tall, slim palm trees until they bent over.  Paige was surprised they didn’t snap in two.

 

Within a few moments of crossing the causeway, the lieutenant pulled up under the portico of a sprawling hotel. 

 

“I’ll go inside with you and make sure you’re settled,” Lieutenant Mitchell said.  “No hotel is likely to turn you away in this weather, but the American consul was asked to make sure you two were taken care of, and it’s up to me to make sure he keeps his promise.”

 

The three went inside and before long, Paige and Walter were settled in a corner of the hotel lobby, beside a fireplace that Paige suspected was rarely used.  There weren’t many other refugees here, but there were enough that the lobby hummed with a mix of low conversations.  Furniture had been pushed aside and two large couches were pushed up against the glass doors that faced the nearby ocean, to make sure the impromptu guests didn’t wander over there, despite the warnings of the hotel personnel.  They were offered hot tea or coffee, and Paige gratefully took a steaming cup.  She grimaced at the bitter taste, but the warmth felt good. 

 

“We should probably try and get some rest,” Walter suggested.  “The clerk said things will get really noisy when the brunt of the storm hits, and we won’t be able to sleep through it.”

 

Paige nodded and gulped the last of her coffee.  She lay down on the rollaway bed and rested her head on the pillow.  She knew this was a top notch hotel.  Even the pillows and mattresses on the rollaway beds were top quality. 

 

“Paige?” she heard Walter whisper.  “Are you still awake?”

 

“Mm hmm,” she answered. 

 

“I…” he began. 

 

Paige waited.  After a moment she turned over so she could face Walter, lying on his own cot. 

 

“I…” he repeated. 

 

He was obviously struggling to say something, and Paige wondered for a moment if this was the mysterious ‘thing’ he’d been trying to tell her.  She waited. 

 

“I… I’m glad you’re here,” he blurted.  “I mean… I’m not glad you’re going through a hurricane.  And I’m definitely not glad that you’re in any danger.  But I’m glad… I’m glad that we’re together.”

 

“If I have to be stuck in a hurricane, Walter, I’m glad it’s with you, too.”

 

“Oh… that’s good then.  Well, good night.”

 

Paige sighed.  “Good night, Walter.”

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

“Paige, wake up!”  Walter urged, gently shaking Paige’s shoulder. 

 

“Mmm... what?”

 

“You need to wake up.  The eye is right over us.  We should go outside and see!”

 

“Walter?  Are you nuts?”  Paige sat up on her cot, rubbing her eyes.  “There’s a great big storm out there and you want to go out in it?”

 

“That’s just it, Paige.  We’re in the eye right now.  It’s totally calm.  Come and see.” 

 

Paige reluctantly rose from her bed and followed Walter.  He walked carefully among the other beds until they got to a corridor that lead into other sections of the hotel.  They passed a conference room, where Paige saw groups of additional beds, all occupied.  Apparently the hotel was hosting quite a few more refugees than she originally thought.  They turned a corner, and reached a door, which Walter opened, leading Paige outside.  He carefully jammed a bit of cardboard into the door lock.  “So we can get back in,” he whispered.  

 

Paige breathed in the air.  It smelled amazing.  “It’s like the whole world has been washed clean,” she remarked. 

 

“Come over onto the beach,” Walter encouraged, grasping her hand and pulling her along with him.  “You’ll have to wait until your eyes adjust to the darkness, but you can see the walls of the storm all around us.” 

 

Paige looked out over the ocean.  The water was churning, but Walter was right.  The wind was completely calm and there was no rain.  Her eyes began to adjust and she could see what looked like a giant white wall of water a short way out over the ocean. 

 

“Is it… is it moving toward us?” she asked, not wanting to find out what it would be like to be hit by that wall. 

 

“Yes, but it will be about another five or ten minutes before it gets here,” Walter assured her. 

 

“In that case, let’s get back inside before five minutes!”

 

Walter took her hand and pulled her into an almost hug.  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we get back inside before it hits.”

 

He began to sway, holding her and intently watching the eyewall at the same time. Then he spun them around, a movement made somewhat awkward by the sand.   

 

“Walter?  What… what are we doing?”

 

He smiled back at her.  Paige recalled the last time he’d held her like this.  They were on a case then… just pretending.  Paige didn’t think Walter was pretending now.      

 

“We’re dancing… dancing in a hurricane.  Seems sort of appropriate for Scorpion, don’t you think?”

 

“I think that song is ‘ _Rockin’ Like a Hurricane’_.”

 

“I heard another song on the radio the other day,” he answered.  “ _’You can dance in a hurricane, but only if you’re standing in the eye._ ’  I didn’t get too many of the other words, but for some reason that stuck with me.  I just… for some reason I thought we should do it.  We’re standing in the eye… we should dance… in the hurricane.  We might not ever get another chance.”

 

Paige shook her head and laughed.  “Walter O’Brien, I don’t think I’ll ever understand you!”

 

Suddenly, they were blasted by a gust of wind and what felt like a wall of water slapped Paige in the face. 

 

“Uh-oh, we better get inside!” Walter shouted.  A noise like a freight train seemed to follow them as they dashed towards the door.  Walter quickly removed his cardboard lock block and shoved Paige inside, following quickly behind. 

 

Paige stood, gasping in the corridor.  Her clothes were sodden and her hair was dripping.  She wondered if Walter had a clue how romantic the last few moments had been.  She still wasn’t sure if she and Walter had any future, but she was sure she would remember that last few moments for the rest of her life. 

 

**. ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .**

 

The next morning, Lieutenant Mitchell picked them up shortly after breakfast and drove them back to the airport.  Along the way, they saw a lot of torn up trees and other minor damage, but for the most part the island weathered the storm well. 

 

They took a commercial flight to Charlotte and from there back to Los Angeles.  Paige felt a little uncomfortable boarding the flight with so many other people, since she felt she must look terrible with her hair ratty from the night before, but most of the people on the short hop weren’t in any better condition.  In Charlotte she was able to make basic repairs in the ladies room and they called the garage to let everyone know they were on their way home.  Paige was pleased to hear that Toby and Happy spent the night watching Ralph.  The pair were clearly working things out.  After she hung up, she began to think of the sleeping arrangements in her condo and determined that she would have to change the sheets on her bed as soon as she got home. 

 

The whole gang met them at LAX, Ralph running up to hug his mother tightly as soon as he caught sight of her, then he reached over and gave Walter a similar hug. 

 

Not surprisingly, on the ride home Toby cranked up the audio system and played “Rockin’ Like a Hurricane” in honor of their experience.  After the third rendition, Paige begged him not to play it again. 

 

“So, how was it, anyway,” Toby asked.  “The hurricane, I mean.”

 

Walter and Paige looked at each other. 

 

“Wet!” they both answered. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – writerfreak001 - Elevator d’amour**

_“Don’t be afraid of who you really are. You are not your brain. You are your heart, and there are people in this world that love you so much. Walter, don’t be afraid of love. I just want you to be as happy as I am.”_ – Megan Dodd, _Scorpion 2x10 “Arrivals and Departures”_

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

“Cabe, our handler, is taking care of the arrest as we speak,” Walter said as he shook the client’s hand once more before slowly backing away from him. “If you need our services again, don’t hesitate to call our office. Paige,” the genius gestured towards the radiant woman standing next to him and smiled gently, “will discuss payment options with you now.”

As Walter motioned for Paige to step in, she flashed him a small, bright red grin before escorting Mr. Ellington, the owner of Ellington Enterprises, to the side for privacy. Walter watched the way her frilly black skirt swished around her long legs as her scarlet stilettos clip-clopped along the wooden floor of the penthouse, and inhaled a deep breath, unable to look away.

It had been almost a week since his last attempt to tell Paige how he felt, and even though he was pretty sure their current relationship was in good standing, he wanted more. So much more.

He was completely and absolutely disappointed with himself. All he wanted to do was say three words, THREE WORDS, to Paige, but _something_ or _someone_ (he blamed Tim, logic be damned) didn’t seem to want him to confess his love to her.

But not today.

 _Definitely_ not today.

Aside from the unexpected case, he eliminated every threatening factor he could think of so that he could have a moment of peace to _finally_ tell Paige he was madly and deeply in love with her. Just for today, he blocked all incoming calls from Drew and Tim to Paige’s cellphone and redirected them to his number just in case of an emergency. He also paid Toby to butt out of his love life for the next twenty-four hours and to keep his trap shut from accidental revelations. The last thing Walter needed was Toby blurting out the truth to Paige before he even had a chance to tell her himself. If Toby valued his paycheck, he wouldn’t dare try to defy Walter’s orders.

Luckily, Happy and Sly didn’t seem to be a problem, but Cabe had a tendency to interrupt many of the small moments he had with Paige so to avoid any unwanted interruptions, Walter promised Cabe he would treat him to a meal sometime next week if and only if he agreed to kindly buzz off after the case. Cabe happily accepted.

Last but not least, his proudest achievement was getting rid of Tim for the day. This morning, Tim received orders to assist his former superior with a top secret assignment (all thanks to Walter’s astounding recommendation) and left for Mexico an hour later. The best part? He’s not due back for another few days.

So after securing a few loose ends, Walter was now, more than ever, determined to tell Paige how he felt. _Nothing_ was going to stop him. Not a single damn thing.

Walter Patrick O’Brien was going to tell Paige Dineen he loved her even if it killed him.

“Cool it, 197,” Happy harshly whispered to Walter as she walked past him to pack up her things. “You look like you’re getting ready to pounce Dineen.”

“Believe me,” Walter answered absentmindedly as Paige casually flipped her bouncy hair with the back of her hand, and he inhaled a deep breath before adding, “you have no idea how tempted I am….” Walter suddenly froze and gravely turned towards Happy. “You weren’t supposed to hear that….”

“But I did,” she grimaced and shook her head slightly before shoving her hands into her pockets. She rocked slightly on her toes and glanced at Toby before returning her attention to Walter. “Don’t wait too long, Walt.” Happy pursed her lips together. “Tell her the truth; if you don’t, you might lose her forever.”

“You withheld information from Toby for months, but the two of you seem to be okay now.”

“We’re working on it,” Happy crossed her arms, “but it’s going to take some time before Toby completely trusts me again. Don’t make the same mistake I did, O’Brien. She won’t wait forever.”

“I know.”

“Good. You better.”

Happy spotted Paige slowly making her way towards the genius in front of her. She gave the liaison a small smile as she started to pass Walter and quietly whispered, “She’s one of a kind…. _Don’t_ screw it up.”

Walter spun around to respond but immediately froze as his eyes locked in on Paige’s, taking a moment to bask in her beauty. Her hair flowed behind her like a golden veil of silk as she slowly approached him, and the way her hips swayed in rhythm as she walked towards him, how her skirt swished and fluttered about her knees, and how she waved and smiled at him short-circuited his brain, but he did not care. He absolutely did not care.

How could he be so lucky to find a woman like Paige? Statistically, it didn’t make sense, but there she was, so eloquent, so perfect, so beautiful, floating towards him like an angel, and all he could do was stand there and stare.

And boy, did _he_ like staring.

She was then standing in front of him, eyes sparkling with _desire?_ And when her tongue sensuously licked her lips, he knew he was a dead man.

“Walter,” her voice was like a thousand ringing bells, so beautiful, so clear, so electrifying, and he dared to wonder how she would sound if he was kissing her neck…, her collarbone…, her breast, her… her…. His cheeks flushed deeply, and he started to chastise himself for being so inappropriate, but then her fingers fluttered up his arms, and he couldn’t function anymore. All he could hear was her beautiful voice lilting softly in his ear, eliciting tiny explosions inside of him.

He was a goner for sure.

“Walter,” she ran her hands down from his collar to the middle of his tie and pinned her lower lip between her teeth before leaning dangerously closer. “I want to personally thank you for saving my life today.” Paige wrapped her hand around his tie and tugged him closer to her until their lips were almost touching. Was this even real? “It was _so_ brave,” she muttered lowly, walking her fingers up his chest before weaving them into his thick curls. “So sexy,” she purred, her hot breath lacing with his within the small space between them.

Paige yanked even harder on his tie, jerking him towards her until nothing but clothing was separating them. Her crimson lips kissed him intensely, sending the genius into a deep frenzy, and the next thing he knew, his hands were everywhere, touching and massaging and teasing her any way he could.

She whimpered his name – repetitively – as his mouth peppered kisses down her neck, but he wanted more. He wanted everything. He wanted—”

“WALTER!”

The genius immediately snapped his attention to the woman standing a few feet from him and gulped as she suspiciously cocked an eyebrow at him. “Is… everything all right?”

Walter blinked many times and tried to suppress the need to blush as Paige incessantly tapped her foot against the floor. “Yeah, yeah,” he scratched his neck and rolled it gently before shaking his shoulders, “Everything’s good.” He flashed a forced smile and crossed his arms to prevent himself from touching her, “Very good,” he paused, “W-Why?”

“I said your name about five times….”

“Oh,” Walter pressed his lips together to a fine line. “I was, uh….”

“Daydreaming?”

 _More like fantasizing…._ “You could say that….”

“About what?”

“I...,” he swallowed thickly and then cleared his throat, “I don’t remember?”

Paige did not believe him for a second but decided to let it go for the time being. “Well, did you even hear what I said?”

Walter opened his mouth to reply but immediately closed it and shook his head to avoid sharing anything from that oh so amazing fantasy he had just had of her. “No.”

“I wanted to thank you, Walter,” Paige replied as she took another step towards him, flashing him a small smile. Walter gulped nervously, wondering if he was some sort of psychic now. He didn’t even _believe_ in fortunetelling, but at this point, when it came to Paige, everything he ever believed usually went out the window. She planted her feet in front of him and took his hands in hers as she stepped a little closer. “Thank you for saving my life…,” her thumbs brushed over his knuckles gently as she bit her lip again. “F-For charging that man,” she continued, “after he had threatened to kill me… for pushing him into the company pool and for apprehending him.” She swiftly leaned forward and pressed a ghostly kiss to his cheek. “It was very brave. _Stupid_ ,” she laughed quietly, “but brave.”

Though he was flattered by her gratitude, that really wasn’t how everything went down…, but she didn’t need to know how it _actually_ happened. Not yet, at least.

 After the culprit threatened to kill Paige, he just sort of… lost it and blindly charged towards the man, hoping to knock him down, but he ended up tripping and colliding into him, sending him flying into the pool. Walter tried to regain his balance but couldn’t and face-planted into the water, completely knocking the other guy out.

“Thanks…,” A colorful smile stretched across Walter’s lips, and Paige immediately smiled back. “As I said when we first met,” Walter looked down at their conjoined hands and then met her smiling eyes again, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“And I believe it,” Paige giggled softly as she squeezed his fingers. She moved closer to him, and he braced himself for what he had envisioned earlier, but it did not come. She stopped and leaned backwards, giving him a onceover before laughing again.

“Is something… funny?”

“I guess you were right,” Paige’s smile stretched ear to ear, and Walter decided to keep his thoughts to himself, knowing she didn’t need a reminder about him being always right.

Instead, he said, “About what?”

“It seems you _are_ doomed to get wet any time you’re with me,” Paige mused, and Walter couldn’t help but smirk.

“That _does_ seem to happen a lot,” Walter chuckled as he looked down at his still soaking wet shirt. One of these days, he was going to remember to pack a dry set of clothes to avoid obtaining the wet clothes rash he was unmistakably going to get. At least he was lucky enough to have forgotten his phone and wallet in his briefcase before he went off chasing after the perpetrator. “At least, this time, getting wet was worth it.”

Before Paige could respond, Cabe had reentered the penthouse and made his usual announcement, telling everyone to wrap things up and head for the van. Walter had a plan and knew exactly how and when he was going to tell Paige he loved her so to avoid being stuck in an elevator with the other members of the team, he purposely packed up his things slowly. He now understood how love seemed to affect people in strange ways. The old Walter O’Brien would have never deliberately move slowly for anything. Before Paige, he would have been the first one to the door, ready to leave as soon as possible.

It was only after Paige came into his life did he realize that slowing down wasn’t a bad thing. It might not be as efficient, but it was almost always very rewarding.

Once everything was packed, he slung his shoulder bag over his shoulder and reached down for his briefcase as everyone else filed into the elevator. Seeing that it was already filled, he flashed his team a smile, and said, “I’ll take the next one.”

“This is the only elevator that leaves the penthouse. It could be twenty minutes before you get a chance to catch the next elevator,” Cabe replied as he grabbed Walter’s arm and dragged him inside. “We’ll make it work.”

“Fine,” Walter sighed, not wanting to argue, “but Sly has claustrophobia so to spare his sanity, I’m going to get off at the next level down and take the next elevator.”

“Oh, Thank God, because I literally thought I was going to die with all of you in here,” Sylvester exclaimed loudly, splaying his hand across his chest.

“I’ll hop off too,” Paige said with a smile, her eyes never leaving Walter’s. “The fewer the people on this elevator, the better it is for Sylvester.”

“Paige. Walter. Remind me to give both of you a big hug down in the lobby. You two are life savers. _Literally_.” Sylvester flashed the liaison a grin and then glanced at Walter as Cabe pressed LEVEL 16 and then the LOBBY buttons.

“It’s no problem,” Walter replied, giving Sylvester a knowing look as Paige touched the human calculator’s shoulder.

“Anything to help.”

As promised, when the elevator stopped at the level below the penthouse, Walter and Paige stepped off of the lift and headed for a different one. Paige pressed the DOWN button, and they waited in silence for a few minutes before the elevator in front of them landed and opened. Three people stepped as Walter and Paige slipped inside, followed by a crowd of four. The genius was not happy; in order for his plan to work, they needed to be alone.

They stood in the back, side by side, as the others talked amongst themselves, and after descending three more levels, another person filed in, forcing both genius and liaison to turn towards one another in order to fit the new arrival.

“Hi,” Walter whispered quietly, and she flashed a small smile as she curled a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Hi,” she mouthed as Walter leaned against the side of the elevator. When the lift stopped again, the group of four filed out, but five more people squeezed inside. A much bigger guy accidentally pushed Paige into Walter, and being unable to move backwards, she hooked her chin over the genius’s shoulder and just stood there, and Walter couldn’t help but notice her lavender perfume. Like always, it was a lovely scent. “Sorry,” she whispered into his ear, her breath brushing against his neck, sending chills down his spine.

“Don’t be,” Walter mumbled into her hair as he turned his head slightly towards her, wanting a stronger whiff of her perfume. He sniffed quietly and closed his eyes briefly before the elevator stopped again. Everybody but an elderly woman walked out of the elevator, and the moment Paige had stepped away from Walter, he acted quickly and closed the elevator doors before anybody could step inside.

Paige noticed Walter’s sudden action but decided not to say anything. When the elderly woman _finally_ left the elevator at the fourth floor, Walter did the same thing and closed the doors rapidly. And as soon as he knew the elevator was between floors, he pressed the EMERGENCY STOP button without hesitation.

“Walter?” Paige cocked an eyebrow and gently touched his shoulder, “Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” Walter nodded swiftly, trying to keep his nervousness on the down low. “Why?”

“I know you can come across as a little uncouth to some people, but you literally just closed the elevator doors on a group of people and then shut the operation down entirely…. Even I know that’s not usually something you do.” Paige crossed her arms in front of her and tapped her fingers over the skin just above her elbows. “So… I’ll ask again…. Is everything okay?”

Walter nodded honestly and leaned against the side of the elevator again before gripping the bar behind him. “I just… I needed…,” he inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly, “I needed to talk to you…. I’ve _been_ needing to talk to you for several days now, but any time I’ve tried to tell you what I need to tell you, something or someone always interrupted me. I know this isn’t the _best_ place to talk, but…,” he ran his hand through his hair and took a step towards Paige, “I… I need to talk to you.”

Paige gave Walter her undivided attention and let out a breath, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, she walked up to him and reached for his hand, wrapping her fingers around his to comfort him. “Walter, it’s me,” she smiled sweetly and squeezed his palm. “Whatever it is you need to say, it’s just m—”

“I love you,” Walter said almost too rapidly as he impulsively gripped her shoulders, then the base of her neck, before grasping her cheeks desperately. His nostrils flared as she just stood there, shocked from his revelation, before he repeated himself in a softer, more confident tone. “I love you so much, Paige. W-What I feel for you is…, well, it’s unquantifiable.”

Paige’s eyes slowly his, and she inhaled a slow breath before speaking. “Y-You love me?”

“Yes,” Walter said without hesitation. “Yes, I do.”

“B-But you said…”

“I’ll explain my thought process later. We only have about two more minutes before management overrides the Emergency Stop system, seeing as there is nothing wrong with the elevator. So… if all possible, and if you’re not mad at me for taking a long time to realize how much I love you, right now, I’d really, really, really, _really_ like to kiss you if that’s okay?” He paused, “ _Is_ that okay?”

A colorful smile stretched across Paige’s rosy lips, and she slowly strung her arms around Walter’s neck as she leaned towards him. His hands dropped from her cheeks to her hips as Paige touched her nose to his, whispering, “I thought you’d never ask.”

And then their lips met as Walter closed the distance between them, and he kissed her slowly at first, wanting just to feel her against him. As his arms wrapped around her, pulling her into an intimate embrace, Paige kissed him harder, humming softly as he mindlessly pressed her against the wall of the elevator.

They inhaled and exhaled together as their breathing escalated, and Paige whimpered quietly as Walter’s hand slid down to the small of her back, covering the small strip of skin between her blouse and skirt. Her lips parted against his, and she welcomed him as he stroked his tongue against hers, causing both of them to shiver with delight.

Paige’s fingers weaved into Walter’s dark curls and crimped them in short grasps, unable to concentrate on doing anything else aside from kissing him. He crushed her against him, still pressing her hard against the elevator wall and groaned lowly as he involuntarily grinded against her. Good God. Maybe there _was_ a heaven after all.

She cried out in pleasure, breaking away. “Oh my,” Paige mumbled between pants, and Walter’s fearful look alarmed her as he backed away suddenly. “Hey,” she smiled gingerly as she approached him in two long strides and pecked him on the lips, “that was a _good_ sound.”

“Was it too much too soon?”

“Oh, God, no.” Paige shook her head and let out a soft giggle. “Not enough!” With one hand still hidden deep within his curls, she wrapped the other hand around the back of Walter’s neck as she swung her legs forward, locking them around his hips, before kissing him hard on the mouth again. The force of her swift movement sent him backwards towards the other side of the elevator, and he absentmindedly moved his hands from her back to her ass, rucking up her skirt a little and gripping the tops of her thighs tightly to support her weight. (At least that was the explanation he was giving himself anyway).

He tipped his head backwards, and she nipped at his bottom lip, sucking on it gently and slowly as she rolled her hips against his. And when her tongue slithered into his mouth and swept against his, he knew he was done for. There wasn’t anything this woman could do that wouldn’t send him over the edge.

Neither one of them noticed the elevator moving again and opening to a hallway of businesspeople. No one moved and waited awkwardly and silently until the door closed again. Walter had half a mind to reach over and hit the EMERGENCY STOP button again to buy them more time, and he was _very_ glad he did.

He would stop the damn elevator all day and night if he had to.

The taste of her mouth was sweet like strawberries, and he couldn’t get enough. He was absolutely drunk on everything she was doing to him, and she was only giving him a sample of what she _could_ offer later. And if _this_ – what he was feeling, what he was experiencing, what he was drowning within – was even a fraction of what’s to come, then Walter Patrick O’Brien was a dead man.

And Paige Dineen was his beautiful assassin.

He could live with that.

“Walter,” Paige deliciously hummed against his lips.

“Hmm?” He was too lost in this woman to speak coherently.

Paige popped her lips off of his and giggled gleefully as her palms found his face. She brushed her thumbs under his eyes and rubbed her nose lovingly against his before leaning over to kiss the arch of his brow. “I love you, too,” she muttered softly as she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his. “I love you, too, Walter, and you cannot believe how happy I am to finally know what I’ve always suspected… what I’ve always hoped was true….”

“It _is_ true. I cannot explain it, but I _do_ love you,” Walter gave her a warm smile, and she grinned in return.

“I know. I know you do,” Paige quickly kissed him before brushing away the thin wisps of hair in front of his eyes. She gazed deeply into his eyes, and he could literally feel her love touching him in ways he didn’t really understand. He could feel it everywhere, but also concentrated in his chest. It made him want to carry her off to a vacated room or office or wherever he could find and do things with her he never considered himself doing with anyone, and yet it also made him want to kiss her slowly and gingerly and hold her against him for as long as he could before the damn elevator started working again. Everything he was feeling for this woman was incredibly overwhelming yet entirely simple at the same time.

Paige was right.

Love _is_ crazy.

Walter was completely in awe of and unparalleled by this woman. She was everything he wasn’t. She was perfect. She was beautiful. She was loving and caring and strong and damn right sexy, and even though he was a challenging man in many rights, she loved him anyway.

Him.

Walter Patrick O’Brien.

Paramount of all nerds.

He was suddenly starting to doubt himself again. How could a stunning woman like Paige be in love with a guy like him? It didn’t make sense. They were like vinegar and oil; they shouldn’t mix, and yet here Paige was, holding him incredibly close.

She must have detected his sudden sense of doubt because she hovered her lips over his, and whispered, “All of this is real, Walter. What you’re feeling, what _I’m_ feeling. It’s all real.”

“How do you know I won’t mess it up?” Walter swallowed thickly, and Paige gently grazed the back of her manicured nails against the side of his face.

“How do you know _I_ won’t mess up?” Paige replied quietly, and he opened his mouth but couldn’t find a solid, thorough answer. Paige smiled warmly and laughed lightly. “Exactly. We can’t know these things. All we can do is protect what we have, day by day, and promise to be honest with each other no matter what.” She paused and strummed his bottom lip with the pad of her thumb. “Do you trust me?”

“Always.”

“And I always trust you,” Paige delicately kissed his forehead. “I think we owe it to ourselves to see where this – _us_ – goes. Don’t you?”

He nodded almost too quickly, causing her to laugh.

“Are we good now?”

“Yes,” Walter nodded again, and she smiled in response.

“Then shut up,” she hovered her lips over his and gripped his face again, “and let me kiss you senselessly.”

“Copy that,”

They never moved together so fast.  

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**Sometime later…**

“I think I fixed it,” Happy said to the manager as she wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “I overrode the operation and temporarily disabled the Emergency Stop system so that when the elevator resets and descends to the lobby, it shouldn’t stop until the system is enabled again. In theory, that is.”

“And what if it isn’t fixed?” the hotel manager frowned, receiving an eye roll from the mechanic.

“Well, if it isn’t fixed, which it should be because I’m the best damn mechanic in all of Los Angeles, but if it isn’t, at least we’ll have eyes inside and see why it keeps stopping.” Happy said as the elevator began descending again.

“Here it comes now,” Cabe mumbled as the rest of the team gathered in front of the doors. The indicator beeped, and the doors slowly opened, revealing their friends in compromising positions.

Everyone blinked as Walter and Paige heavily made out on the floor of the elevator. It was hard not to watch, and Toby had a wide grin plastered to his face. “About damn time.” 

As soon as the doors closed on them, and Happy disabled the elevator altogether.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna grab some lunch,” Cabe said as he started walking backwards towards the double doors.

“Ditto,” Happy replied as Sylvester followed.

Toby didn’t move.

“You’re going out for lunch too, doc.” Cabe said as he grabbed the shrink’s arm and dragged him out of the building. “A _very_ long lunch.”


End file.
